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Subject:People don't see problems that don't happen? From:Geoff Hart <ghart -at- videotron -dot- ca> To:TECHWR-L <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com> Date:Mon, 07 May 2007 10:01:51 -0400
This is a familiar refrain. I recall many a meeting with my boss in
which we agreed that some day, we were going to have to choose a
suitable project (i.e., one that wasn't crucial) that we would fail
to complete on time because of an unreasonable deadline. "THEN, they
won't take us for granted," we'd say, nodding our heads and
grimacing. Of course, being smarter than the average bear, we used
this as an opportunity to vent in the privacy of his office, not as
an opportunity to actually sabotage a project by working only 8-hour
days until it was complete or refusing to reshuffle our priorities
when necessary.
However, we didn't stop with venting: We always made it quite clear
to the program manager who'd dropped a last-minute unreasonable
deadline on us precisely what the implications were, and made it
quite clear that even though we were going to bust our collective
butt to get the job done, they'd better realize that they owed us big-
time. (Phrased much more politely and in much less of a mercenary
fashion, of course.) We also told them what could and could not be
done in the available time.
The (in)tangible benefit of this approach was that we earned a
reputation of being willing to go the extra mile for one of our
clients without insisting on payback, and they all understood this
clearly and came to appreciate it. It meant that we earned their
respect, their trust, and a strong willingness to work with us when
we asked for this privilege. It meant, in short, that we were visible
to them, and not just a part of the unseen, unappreciated corporate
office furniture (much like the photocopier and fax machine).
It ***did not*** drastically cut the number of times we had to cope
with a last-minute crunch, but we did make some progress on that by
taking another approach: getting my boss invited to sit in on the
management planning meetings, where project progress and deadlines
were discussed. We rarely had any chance to shape those deadlines
(other than by saying "by the way, Geoff will be away most of June,
so you need to get your project in by mid-May if you expect him to
work on it), but we at least had much more warning in most cases.
Forewarned is forearmed, as the saying goes, and if you know a crunch
is coming, you can clear your desk beforehand and talk to other
clients about providing their work earlier (if you have free time) or
pushing back their deadlines (if you're already fully committed).
Since they know they owe you a favor, as noted above, and like you
enough not to resent this, they often show far more flexibility than
you would otherwise expect. If you make an effort on someone's
behalf, most such someones will reciprocate in future.
In light of the specific problem that started this thread, the key is
not just to work heroically to meet insane deadlines: instead, you
must focus on making it clear to everyone what you're doing. They
must recognize, both intellectually and emotionally, that you are
putting in these heroic efforts, and you must communicate this in a
way that isn't rubbing their collective nose in their own
incompetence as planners. Then, you must collect the data required to
prove convincingly that they must change (e.g., plan better, hire
more writers) or at least make you privy to their plans so you can
make your own plans. All this is easier if they like you and respect
what you're doing on their behalf.
----------------------------------------------------
-- Geoff Hart
ghart -at- videotron -dot- ca / geoffhart -at- mac -dot- com
www.geoff-hart.com
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